Operational process for a dishwashing machine

Abstract: The operational process includes a step in which water is let into a receiving sump (5) up to a static level (L), said water being then sprayed onto the washload through appropriate spray means (8, 13) that are supplied by a pump (7) having a suction mouth (11) whose top portion is situated at a level (H). The water is sprayed in an intermittent manner through a sequence of alternating spray periods (T) and pause periods (Tp) during which the pressure of the water downstream of the pump (7) is at its maximum (P1) and at its minimum (Pm), respectively. Each spray period (T) has a duration which is equal to the time needed for the water in the sump (5) to sink from the static level (L) to the level (H) of the pump suction mouth (11). Each pause period (Tp) has a duration that is equal to the time needed for the water in the sump (5) to rise again from the level (H) up to the static level (L).

Description: The present invention refers to an improved type of operational process capable of being implemented in an automatic dishwashing machine. Automatic dishwashing machines are commonly known to be provided with a programme sequence control arrangement, either of an electromechanical or an electronic type, which is adapted to control the main operating organs of the machine so as to enable pre-determined operational processes of the machine to be performed in the way that will have been appropriately set in advance by the user. In particular, such operational processes consist usually of one or several successive steps which can be selectively included in or excluded from a given process. A traditional operational process would basically include a main washing phase, at least a rinse phase, and a final drying phase. Each one of these washing and rinsing phases are known to be usually performed by first letting from the delivery mains into the washing tank of the machine an amount of water which, as appropriately enriched through the addition of detergent or rinse aid, as the case may be, can then be heated up to a respective pre-established temperature, is sprayed onto the washload by means of rotating spray arms that are supplied by a circulation pump, and is eventually let off the machine tank into the drain. In general, said afore mentioned amount of water filled into the machine tank is substantially the same for all of the phases included in the operational process, and it shall further be adequately large so as to not only ensure a correct priming of the circulation pump, but also enable each single item in the washload to be properly sprinkled and wetted, said washload being appropriately arranged in support baskets placed one above another inside the tank of the machine. In view of cutting the overall water usage and, as a consequence, the overall energy consumption, a proposal has been set forth in the Italian patent application no. PN91 A 000071 filed on Oct. 22, 1991 to spray the water onto the washload, during the rinsing phase, at a reduced pressure with respect to the pressure used during the washing phase. This, in an advantageous manner, enables a reduced amount of water to be used during the rinsing phase, thereby bringing about a corresponding energy saving effect. On the other hand, it is not possible to achieve such an advantageous energy saving effect during the washing phase, as it would on the contrary be quite desirable. A quite drastic reduction in the usage of energy can be obtained in a dishwashing machine of the type described in EP-B-0 237 994, in which the rotating spray arms are supplied in an alternate manner by the circulation pump. Such a solution, however, calls for the additional use of water-flow diverting means which therefore make the construction of the washing machine undesirably more complicated. US-A-3 664 159 discloses even a clothes washing machine which includes spray nozzles that are supplied intermittently with water by a circulation pump. Such a solution enables the effectiveness of the washing action on the clothes to be actually boosted; however, it does not specifically bring about any reduction in the energy and, particularly, water consumption records of the machine. It is therefore a purpose of the present invention to provide an operational process which is capable of being implemented in a dishwashing machine of a substantially traditional type and, for a washing effectiveness and process duration that are comparable with those of a traditional operational process, enables the water and energy usage of the machine to be drastically reduced without making it necessary to complicate the construction of the same machine any further. According to the present invention, such an aim is achieved in an operational process for dishwashing machines which includes the features as claimed in the appended claims. The characteristics and the advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood from the description which is given below by way of non-limiting example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a schematical, partial view of an automatic dishwashing machine adapted to perform the operational process according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a graph illustrating schematically water pressure variations downstream of the circulation pump in a particular embodiment of the operational process according to the present invention; Figure 3 is a graph illustrating schematically the variations in the level of the water collecting on the bottom of the washing tank, in a particular embodiment of the operational process according to the present invention; Figure 4 is a graph illustrating schematically water pressure variations downstream of the circulation pump in a second embodiment of the operational process according to the present invention; Figure 5 is a graph illustrating schematically the variations in the level of the water collecting on the bottom of the washing tank, in said second embodiment of the operational process according to the present invention. Referring to Figure 1, it can be noticed that the dishwashing machine itself can be of a substantially traditional type, for instance as disclosed in US-A-5 211 189, so that it shall not be described here in detail. It may be just recalled here that said dishwashing machine mainly includes a washing tank 4, in which there are housed spray means comprising at least a spray arm 8 capable of rotating on a substantially horizontal plane due to hydraulic reaction. The rotating spray arm 8 is in turn provided with a plurality of nozzle 13 adapted to spray the washload, which is appropriately arranged in a basket 9, with water that is pressurized by the action of a circulation pump 7 which is preferably of the centrifugal type and is driven by an electric motor 15. The latter, along with the main functional members of the machine, is controlled by a programme sequence control apparatus 14 to automatically perform one or several pre-selectable processes, in particular an operational process according to the present invention. Said programme sequence control apparatus 14 may be of any electromechanical or electronic type, such as for instance built around a Motorola 6804 or 6805 microprocessor. In any case, anyone skilled in the art will most readily appreciate that such a programme sequence control apparatus can be most easily set to adjust the various parameters (for instance, the moments at which the various functional organs of the machine have to be actuated or energized and the length of time during which they are supposed to operate) determining the operational process according to the invention, including at least a washing phase and/or at least a rinsing phase to handle the dishes loaded in the machine, to be performed in a time-controlled manner. The rotating spray arm 8 is connected, through a supply conduit 12 or similar arrangement, to the delivery side of the circulation pump 7, the suction mouth 11 of which is situated in correspondence of a sump 5 of the tank 4, which is provided to collect the water let into the machine through per sè known water supply means (not shown in the Figure). For instance, said water supply means may be of the type described in EP-B-0 219 704. Again, in a per sè known manner said electric motor 15 is arranged to drive also a drain pump 10. For a better understanding of the present invention, it should be remembered that, for an optimum priming of the circulation pump 7, it is necessary that water be provided in the collecting sump 5 to a level which is at least equal to the level H at which the top portion of the suction mouth 11 of the pump 7 is situated. Furthermore, when the pump 7 is then operating under steady-state conditions, water shall be present inside the washing tank 4 in an amount which is sufficient to substantially fill the chamber of the same pump, the supply conduit 12 and the rotating spray arm 8, as well as to generate water jets 6 that flow out of the nozzles 13 to hit the washload arranged in the therewith associated basket 9 and then fall down by gravity into the collecting sump 5; such a set of conditions are absolutely necessary in order to ensure that dishes are cleaned effectively. It is obvious that the above mentioned conditions can be implemented in a reasonably easy manner by anyone skilled in the art through an adequate sizing of the whole water circulation circuit of the machine. In dishwashing machines, such requirements are usually complied with by letting into the washing tank of the machine an excess amount of water, so as to basically ensure that the level of the same water is in any case substantially higher than the afore mentioned level H. With reference also to the accompanying Figures 2 and 3, it can be seen that the operational process according to the invention is started at a moment t0 with a (per sè known) phase in which mains water is let into the washing tank 4 in a particularly reduced amount as will be more clearly indicated later on. This phase ends at a moment t1 when, under "static" conditions, ie. with the circulation pump 7 de-energized and not operating, the water in the sump 5 reaches up to a static level L > H (Figures 1 and 3). At such a moment t1 (or even afterwards) the programme sequence control apparatus 14 causes the circulation pump 7 to be energized and to operate in an intermittent way, ie. in a sequence of periods T, spaced from each other by pauses Tp, during which the pressure of the water downstream of the pump 7 (ie. in the water circuit supplying the spray nozzles 13) is substantially at its highest level, equal to a value P1 (Figure 2). During said pauses Tp, on the contrary, such a water pressure is at its lowest level, equal to a value Pm; in the embodiment shown in Figure 2, for instance, said lowest pressure Pm amounts practically to nothing during the pause periods Tp, which may for instance be brought about by switching off the pump 7. In the preferred case in which the operational process includes a washing phase, the water contained in the tank 4 is enriched through the addition of a detergent and, as the pump is operated intermittently, it is heated up by an electric resistance or similar heater (not shown) in a per sè known manner. According to an important feature of the present invention, said periods T have a duration which is substantially equal to the length of time required for the water in the sump 5, where it is taken in by the pump 7 and delivered in suspension inside the tank 4, to lower from the static level L down to the afore cited level H. In a preferred way, furthermore, said pauses Tp have a duration which is substantially equal to the length of time required for the water in the sump 5 to rise again from the level H to the level L. The duration of both the periods T and the pauses Tp can be pre-determined by appropriately setting the programme sequence control apparatus in accordance with the sizing of the water circuit of the machine. For instance, if approx. 3 liters of water are let into the sump 5 and a pump 7 having a delivery rate of approx. 60 l/min is used, the periods T and the pauses Tp might have a pre-established duration of approx. 2 to 3 sec. each. It is obvious that anyone skilled in the art will be able to appreciate that, as an alternative, the beginning and/or the end of such periods T and pauses Tp can be determined also in an automatic way, by making to this purpose use of appropriate sensors that may be able to detect (either directly or indirectly) the various levels of the water. Such devices (not shown) may be of any suitable type fitting the application and do not fall within the scope of the present invention. In any case, as it is shown in Figure 3, during the periods T the level of the water in the sump 5 lowers from the static value L down to the value H, in a substantially linear way, to supply the water circuit of the machine comprising the pump 7, the conduit 12, the spray arm 8 and the jets 6. The duration of each one of said periods T is, as already mentioned, of such a short length as to prevent the water being delivered in a suspension in the tank 4 from having the possibility of substantially falling back into the sump. During the pauses Tp, on the contrary, the level of the water in the sump 5 rises from its value H up to its static value L, in a substantially exponential way, owing to the fact that the water being in suspension in the tank 4 falls back by gravity into the same sump. The operational process according to the invention terminates at a moment t2, when the programme sequence control apparatus 14 de-energizes the circulation pump 7 and energizes the drain pump 10 to let the water out of the sump in a per sè known way. It should be noticed that the temporary operation of the circulation pump 7 during each period T requires the availability in the collection sump 5 of a particularly reduced amount of water (for instance 3 liters, as already mentioned), ie. of an amount of water which is just sufficient to generate, for a very short length of time (ie. 2 to 3 Sec.), water jets 6 having the highest pressure P1, under optimum conditions as far as the priming of the pump 7 is concerned. As it has already been said before, in fact, the water in the sump 5 reaches periodically down to its level H, which is defined by the suction mouth 11 of the circulation pump 7, but in no case does it drop below said level. Furthermore, the level L, which is needed for a further operation of the pump 7 during each subsequent period T, is lowered in an advantageous way and is restored automatically during each pause Tp. The very low amount of water being available inside the washing tank of the machine during the operational process according to the invention can be heated up under a correspondingly reduced usage of energy and in a correspondingly short time, so that the detergent can be added to the water in a reduced quantity and becomes active much more quickly than it actually does in a traditional washing cycle. In an advantageous manner, therefore, this counterbalances the provision of the pauses Tp during which the water jets 6 do not perform any mechanical action on the washload. In any case, it should be emphasized that the detergent is actually able to perform its chemical action on the washload even during said pauses Tp, during which the washload itself remains wet, with heated water and detergent thereon, and therefore undergoes actually a "soaking", ie. softening action that greatly contributes to the overall washing effectiveness. Additionally, the spray nozzles 13 are supplied with water at the highest pressure P1 during periods T that are of a particularly short duration. During each period T, therefore, the rotating spray arm 8 performs, by hydraulic reaction (in a per sè known manner), a correspondingly reduced rotation (for instance, 360°); in particular, at the beginning of each period T the rotating spray arm 8 finds itself in a substantially stationary condition and starts rotating slowly while overcoming the inertia of its own mass and the related friction with the water supply conduit 12. As a consequence, it has been shown, also experimentally, that during each period T the washing water jets 6 flowing out of the spray nozzles 13 are actually acting with their highest pressure P1, and in a variable way, on a relatively concentrated zone of the items in the washload. Now, this has been demonstrated, also experimentally, to translate into an effective and even washing effect on the items in the washload in the course of the whole operational process from t0 to t2. Furthermore, washing effectiveness is additionally boosted by the fact (which has also been demonstrated experimentally) that during the pauses Tp the foam developed by the detergent tends to stay afloat on the surface of the water collecting in the sump 5, so that it is substantially not taken in by the pump 7 during its operation periods T. Therefore, as opposed to what takes place in prior art solutions, in which the pump 7 operates in a continuous way, in this case the circulation pump does not undergo cavitation effects, while the pressure of the water jets 6 is substantially at its highest value during the periods T. In other words, the pump 7 is able to advantageously perform in a way that is the optimum one at any time. Conclusively, it can therefore be stated that it has been demonstrated that a washing process according to the present invention is actually effective in enabling considerable savings to be obtained with respect to a corresponding traditional process, and while using a conventional dishwashing machine that did not require any substantial constructional adaptation or modification, said savings amounting to approx. 50% in water usage, 20% in power usage (in particular, for heating up the water) and approx. 10% in the time required for going through the whole cycle. Such a saving effect is also achieved (albeit to a different extent) when the operational process according to the invention also includes either a "hot" rinse phase, ie. a phase in which no detergent is added to the water, or a "cold" rinse phase, ie. a phase in which the water is not even heated up. In any case, according to the present invention a complete operational process , ie. including a washing phase, at least a cold rinse phase and at least a hot rinse phase, is capable of bringing about corresponding savings in water, detergent, energy and time usage. It is obvious that in each one of such phases the pressure of the water jets 6 and the level of the water in the sump 5 will have a similar evolution pattern as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3, respectively. It will be further appreciated that the afore described operational process may be the subject of a number of modifications without departing from the scope of the present invention. With reference to Figures 1, 4 and 5, for example, an embodiment will be further described in the following, which additionally enables the water-induced noise generated in the machine during such an intermittent operation of the spray nozzles 13 to be minimized. As opposed to what has been previously described with reference to Figures 2 and 3, in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 4 and 5 the lowest pressure Pm downstream of the pump 7 is not nil during the pauses Tp, but is on the contrary equal to a pre-determined value P2 which may be quite easily calculated by anyone skilled in the art according to the characteristics of the water circuit of the machine. In particular, said lowest pressure P2 is such as to maintain the water supply circuit to the spray nozzles 13 at least partially full of water, without however causing any substantial water jet 6 to flow out of said spray nozzles themselves. In the illustration shown in Figure 1, such a water supply circuit comprises the pump 7, the connection conduit 12 and the rotating spray arm 8. It is obvious that, in the quite common case in which the circulation pump supplies several rotating spray arms 8 arranged one above another, the above cited substantial filling of the water supply circuit will occur to the maximum possible extent without causing any substantial water jet 6 to flow out of the spray nozzles 13 of the lower rotating spray arm. It is further obvious that the operational process according to the present invention can also be implemented when using a dishwashing machine of the type described in EP-B-0 237 994, ie. a machine which is provided with rotating spray arms arranged one above another and supplied with water alternately. In this case, the afore cited lowest pressure P2 during the pauses Tp may be such as to maintain the water, in the rotating spray arm that is from time to time supplied by the pump, substantially at the level of the respective nozzles. In any case, during the periods T in which the water is brought to its highest pressure P1, the nozzles 13 start almost immediately to eject the washing water jets 6, thereby generating a certain hydraulic noise due to the water impinging against the walls of the afore mentioned water circulating circuit. Such a hydraulic noise is particularly reduced in the embodiment illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, since particularly reduced is in this case the water circulating circuit which must be filled with water when the pressure downstream of the pump 7 changes from its value Pm = P2 over to the highest value P1. As shown in Figure 5, during the operational process t0 - t2 the level of the water in the sump 5 varies in a way which is similar to that described with reference to Figure 3, with the difference that, during the pauses Tp, it increases in this case from the value H to a value L1 < L. The difference between the level L and the level L1 is determined by the amount of water required to substantially fill the water circuit supplying the nozzles 13, as previously described. Anyone skilled in the art will be able to appreciate that the above mentioned pressure variations between the values P1 and Pm can be brought about in different ways, for instance by means of valve or similar means controlled by the programme sequence control apparatus 14 and adapted to vary the flow section of the water circuit supplying the nozzles 13. In a preferred manner, however, the pressure of the water downstream of the circulation pump 7 can be varied by the programme sequence control apparatus 14 by correspondungly varying the rotation speed of the electric motor 15. In such a case, the motor 15 can be implemented as described for instance in the afore cited Italian patent application no. PN91 A 000071.

Claims: Operational process for a dishwashing machine comprising a washing phase and/or at least a rinse phase, each one of said phases being controlled by a programme sequence control apparatus (14) and including in turn the inlet of water into the collecting sump (5) of the machine up to a static level (L), said water being sprayed onto the washload by means of spraying means (8, 13) supplied by a circulation pump (7) having a suction mouth (11) the top portion of which is arranged at a pre-determined level (H) in the sump, said water being sprayed by said spraying means in an intermittent manner, with an alternating sequence of spraying periods (T) and pauses (Tp) during which the pressure of the water downstream of the pump (7) is at its highest value (P1) and its lowest value (Pm), respectively, characterized in that each one of said spraying periods has a duration (T) which is substantially equal to the time taken by the water in the sump (5), due to its being drawn in by the pump (7) and delivered in the tank by said spraying means (8, 13), to lower from said static level (L) down to said pre-determined level (H) of the pump suction mouth (11). Operational process according to claim 1, characterized in that each one of said pauses has a duration (Tp) which is substantially equal to the time taken by the water in the sump (5), in which the water suspended in the tank of the machine collects by gravity, to rise from said pre-determined level (H) to said static level (L). Operational process according to claim 1, characterized in that said lowest pressure (Pm) during said pauses (Tp) is substantially nil. Operational process according to claim 1, wherein said circulation pump (7) is connected through a water delivery circuit with said spraying means (8, 13), characterized in that said lowest pressure (Pm) during said pauses (Tp) has such a value (P2) as to maintain said water delivery circuit (12, 8, 13) at least partially filled with water, so as to minimize the related hydraulic noise generated when the water in the circuit changes to its highest pressure (P1) during said periods (T).

Inventors: FILIPPETTI MARIO, MILOCCO CLAUDIO, FILIPPETTI, MARIO, MILOCCO, CLAUDIO
Applicants: ELECTROLUX ZANUSSI ELETTRODOME, ELECTROLUX ZANUSSI ELETTRODOMESTICI S.P.A.
Application year: 1994
Main classification: A47L15
IPC codes: A47L15